Colorado health officials on Thursday reported 1,310 people who had contracted COVID-19 have died since the new coronavirus was first confirmed in the state, and that death-certificate data shows 1,062 fatalities were directly due to the virus.

That’s an increase of 11 deaths of people with the virus and 61 more fatalities from COVID-19 over the previous day’s tallies, though it doesn’t mean the deaths all occurred in one day. There’s a lag in reporting deaths to the state health department — particularly death-certificate data.

On Friday, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment revamped the way it reports deaths related to the new coronavirus, listing the total number of fatalities in which the person had the virus as well as the number of deaths that have been directly attributed to COVID-19 on a death certificate.

There have been 4,037 people hospitalized since the outbreak first was confirmed in the state in early March, though only 445 people were hospitalized with symptoms of the illness as of Thursday afternoon, state data shows. At least 54 people since Wednesday either went home or were transferred to a lower level of care, like a rehabilitation facility.

Additionally, as of Thursday, there were 330 critical care ventilators being used across the state, down from 463 a month ago, according to state data.

To date, 23,191 people have tested positive for or are believed to have COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory illness causes by the virus, though health officials have said the true number is closer to 167,000.

Officials recorded 5,187 tests on Thursday as the state ramps up its capabilities to better track the virus. The testing rate — 91 tests per 100,000 people per day — has improved drastically since the beginning of the pandemic but falls short of the 152-per-100,000 daily number that health experts say is necessary to safely monitor the outbreak.

Much of the testing has been focused on senior living facilities and other care homes, though Gov. Jared Polis on Monday announced that anybody in the state showing COVID-19 symptoms can now get tested for free. Officials have confirmed outbreaks at 256 contained facilities across the state, including nursing homes, jails and factories. That’s seven more than the previous day.

The state health department announces new totals daily of coronavirus deaths and confirmed cases based on what’s reported up from Colorado’s counties; though the deaths and positive test results may be announced on a particular day, they may have occurred any time in the past and are just now being reported to the state.

Sam Tabachnik is a breaking news reporter for The Denver Post. He previously wrote for NBC News, the Washington Post and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. A Boston native, he's not afraid to root for Tom Brady in the Mile High City.